Master type-bar for matrix-plates.



No. 707,523. Patented Aug. l9, I902.

J. R. REYNOLDS.

MASTER TYPE BAR FOR MATRIX PLAT ES.

(Applicatim z filed Dec. 5, 1901. (No Model.)

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JOHN R. REYNOLDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO GOODSON GRAPHOTYPE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEYMASTER TYPE-BAR FOR MATRIX-PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,523, dated August19, 1902. Application filed December 5,1901. berial No. 84:77 (N model.

r0 (tZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN R. REYNOLDS, a

citizen of the United States of America, and

a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MasterType-Bars for Matrix-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvementsin 1o typebars for the productionof the matrixplates employed in connection with type casting andcomposing machines of various kinds, the object being to produce asimple form of master type-bar which can be made with extreme accuracyandon which the Various characters can be engraved with similar accuracyof alinement and spacing, so that a number of these type-barsconstituting a set of the original or master type for a complete font ofcharacters can be assembled and looked up in such accurate spacing andalinementin both directions that the matrix-plates made therefrom can beemployed with an accurately-spaced standard index-plate of the castingand composing machine, thereby enabling a single standard index-plate tobe interchangeably employed with all the matrixplates comprising thevarious fonts or sizes of type employed by that machine.

0 It is desirable to preface the detailed description of this inventionby a brief statement of the conditions under which these matrix-platesare used and of their relation to the cooperating devices with whichthey 5 are employed.

One of the matrix-plates is commonly employed for each font or style orsize of type employed by the type casting and composing machinesreferred to. These matrix-plates, which are usually thin plates ofcopper, each contains upon its face a separate mold or impression of theface of each and every character of its particular font or style oftype. The matrix-plate is mounted upon the casting-machine with its faceclosely adjacent to a mold for casting the bodies of the type and isusually mounted upon two carriages or slides which are adapted to moveat right angles to each other and to carry the matrixplate in the planeof its own face, so that by the proper movement of these slides any oneof the said impressions in the face of the matrix may be brought intocoincidence with the body mold, which is adjusted during that movementto suit the required width of the character to be cast. Each of theseimpressions' in the matrix-plates must be centered with rapidity andextreme accuracy over the body die each time a piece of type is cast.The respective movements of the slides are controlled by various devicesin different types of machines, but in most cases in addition to themoving carriages referred to and because ofrthe 'diflicultyof movingthem with the requisite speed and stopping them with the necessaryaccuracy in the respective positions an indexing-plate is employedprovided with index-holes arranged to correspond with thematrix-impressions, each of which is therefore finally centered over thebody-mold by its own index-hole, into which a tapering pin is projected,thus supplementing the movements of the carriages and increasing theaccuracy of the centering operation. These matrix-plates are usuallymade by the electrical deposition of copper upon the face of a formcomposed of character-type, which are spaced as nearly as possible inparallel rows and columns at right angles to each other. It is, however,found to be extremely diflicult,if not impossible, with present methodsto space and aline this original or master type in a form with suffkcient accuracy to enable the matrix-plates made therefrom to beinterchangeably used or even to be used at all in connection with astandard index-plate. It is exceedingly difficult to lock up a column ofthe most perfect type twice to the same exact position in spacing andalinement in rows and columns which are exactly at right angles orexactly at any predetermined angle with each other. This difiiculty isgreatly increased by the circumstance that the type contains certainoriginal errors, which must be taken into ac- 9 5 count and removed orcompensated for in arranging aform or set-up from which to make thesematrix-plates. The most caref ully-selected type-faces are often foundto be twisted or not uniformly centered or not perfectly square withrelation to their respective bodies. The type-bodies and spaces also,even in so-called self-spacing type, are found to vary to an appreciableextent in thickness and parallelism,and these variations, althoughminute in the case of individual type, are liable to be considerable inthe aggregate by cumulation or otherwise. Moreover, the slightestdeparture from perfect parallelism or the presence of particles of dirtare liable to carry the type ofi their feet in the locking-up operation,thereby carrying some of the type-faces out of coincidence andparallelism with their proper plane.

Although the errors of spacing and alinement might be too slight to benoticed in a printed impression taken directly from the entire form ofmaster-type as thus assembled and locked up, yet when the matrix-platemade therefrom is rapidly moved in four different directions and more orless inaccurately centered and the individual characters cast therefromare transposed in sequence and position, as they must be in thesubsequent composition produced by the type-casting ma chine, theseerrors are doubled and otherwise brought into prominence. It issufficiently dilficult to cast and compose well alined and spaced andtrue -printing surfaces by machinery at a commercially satisfactoryspeed, even when the matrix impressions are perfectly spaced and alined,without super-adding original errors of the matrix itself by inaccuratespacing or alinement or by distorted locking up of the master-type inthe form from which these matrices are made. In my present inventionthese difficulties are obviated and the use of a standard andinterchangeable index-plate made possible by engraving the original ormaster type-faces upon the properly alined and spaced projections oftype-bars, which when assembled may be locked up squarely with thehorizontal lines and vertical columns of type-faces perfectly spaced andalined and accurately disposed at right angles or at a predeterminedangle with each other.

Figure l of the drawings is a plan view, and

-Fig. 2 is a side view, of a form made by assembling ten of my improvedtype-bars in column form. Fig. 3 is a plan view, Fig. 4 is a side view,and Fig. 5 is an end view, of one of the type-bars composing the column.of Figsrl and 2.

One of these master type-bars 7 is shown in detail in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.They are made from blanks the faces of. which are accurately planed ormilled parallel and square and may be of any convenient height, as ofordinary type, for example. The length of the bar is suited to thenumber of characters and spacing desired in each line of thematrizcplate. The bars here shown are each adapted for ten characters,the position of which is accurately determined in the making of theblank by cutting away portions of the upper edge of the bar to form theprojections 8, upon the upper faces of which the type characters are tobe engraved. One side 9 of these spurs remains in coincidence with theside of the type-bar and serves as a base plane for alining the bottomsof the engraved characters. The left-hand faces 10 are accurately andpreferably equally spaced lengthwise of the bar, and these faces areemployed as bases for locating one side of their respective letters. Thewidth of each projection is in accordance with the setwise width of theletter to be engraved thereon.

For considerations connected with the operation of the casting andcomposing machines with which the matrix-plates are employed thecharacters constituting a font are usually classified into certainwidths, which are arranged in vertical columns, each comprisingcharacters of the same width, as indicated in Fig. 1. In order to alinemy respective columns ofcharacters accurately, I locate the left-hand orgaging faces of the respective projections 8 at the same exact positionon all the bars of a set, preferably by spacing them at equal intervalsfrom the left ends 12 of the bars, so that when any set of bars islocked up or assembled, as shown in Fig. 1, the gaging sides of theprojections are accurately alined in two directions at right angles orat any desired angle to each other. The thickness of these type-bars ismade in accordance with the desired spacing of the lines of thematrix-plate. That spacing is usually equal to the setwise spacing ofthe characters in the line, so that the pointwise thickness of mytype-bar would, as herein shown, usually be equal to the setwise spacingof the faces 10. The width of the projections 8 pointwise of the line isin accordance with the required pointwise dimensions of the characters.The characters are engraved upon the faces of the respectiveprojections, as indicated in a general way by the lower line 13 of Fig.1, each character being located by or compared with the gaging-faces 9and 10 of its own spur, thereby insuring the engraver against errors ofspacing and alinement to which he might otherwise be liable. When a setof the engraved type-bars are set up as in Fig. 1 and locked together,the character-faces are found to be accurately spaced and alined in bothdirections in lines and columns which are parallel and at right anglesto each other. Any desired number-of bars may be assembled in a form andthe characters may be disposed in any desired number and arrangementupon the bars. A matrix-plate made from such a form or set-up will befound to be in accurate working coincidence with a similarly spaced andalined standard index-plate, and any number of matrix-plates made fromsimilarly-spaced master type-bars may be interchangeably used inconnection with the same index-plate. I

I claim as my invention-- 1. A master-type-bar blank provided withprojections for the characters spaced and alined in accordance with thepredetermined positions of those characters.

2. A master-type-bar blank provided with projections spaced and alinedin accordance with the predetermined positions of the desired letters,the width of the said projections transversely of the bar beingsubstantially in accordance With the pointwise dimensions of the desiredtype-bodies.

3. Ablank for a line of master-type, having a thickness equaling thedesired pointwise spacing of the lines provided with projections of awidth substantially equaling the required pointwise dimensions of themastertype.

4. A blank for master type-bars, provided with a line of projections forthe type-faces, the Working sides of the said projections beins equallyspaced from one end of the bar.

5. A blank for master type-bars provided with alined projectionsarranged in the order of their decreasing setwise dimensions from oneend of the bar toward the other, the gaging or workingsides of theprojections being also spaced at equal intervals from one end of thebar.

6. A blank for master type-bars provided with alined projections for thetype-faces, spaced longitudinally of the bar, one face of each of saidprojections being coincident with one face of the bar.

7. A blank for master type-bars provided with a line of spacedprojections for the typefaces, having one face of each projectioncoincident with the side of the type-bar, and having the working sidesof the respective projections spaced at equal intervals from one end ofthe bar.

8. A series of blanks for master type-bars, provided with alinedprojections for a line of master-type, the projections being similarlyspaced on all of the bars, whereby the series of bars when engraved andassembled form a column of master type-faces alined in both directions.

JNO. R. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

WM. H. I-IoNIss, CARRIE M. BRECKLE.

